Takeaways from the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix

The 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix delivered one of the most exciting races of the season. It was the first race since 2006 that did not include Lewis Hamilton following his Coronavirus diagnosis earlier in the week. His replacement, Williams driver George Russell, was desperately unlucky not to come away with the win that instead went to Racing Point’s Sergio Perez. So let’s delve into some of the major talking points of the race and what they could mean for the future. 

Sensational Sergio 

It is only right to start with the race winner - and what a remarkable drive it was for Perez to win his first race in 190 attempts. The win came in dramatic circumstances - he ended the first lap last after being caught up in a tangle with Charles Leclerc. Under the subsequent safety car, he pitted for new medium tyres. 

The setbacks did not stop there, speaking to Sky Sports after the race Perez said he ‘had a very bad lock-up’ behind the first safety car but did not have enough spare tyres to pit again. He went to say that ‘there was a point in the race with the vibrations, they were so bad at one point that I could not hold the wheel’. 

Despite this, he impressively made his way through the field, making his way to P3 by the time he pitted on lap 47, returning to P9. He once again managed to carve through the field to return to P3 by the second safety car and stayed out to take full advantage of Mercedes’ disastrous pit stop and lead the race to the finish. 

It was an outstanding performance and further intensified calls for Perez to get the second Red Bull seat for 2021. His rival for the drive, current holder Alex Albon, had another subpar race - finishing P6 and was overtaken by Perez as early as lap 21. 

Perez is in the form of his life. This result could easily have been his fourth podium in a row, had Racing Point not messed up on strategy in Imola and his engine had not blown up three laps from the end last week in Bahrain. There is now no sporting argument - and in truth, there has not been for a while - to leave Albon in the Red Bull at Perez’s expense. It will be a sporting travesty if Perez is left without a seat next season despite being in the form of his life and at the peak of his powers. 

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1335703358179565568 

Russell’s Heartbreak 

George Russell really should have won this race. He dominated the race from lights out, getting past his established new teammate Valtteri Bottas into turn 1. From there he was almost Hamilton-esque, comfortably extending his lead throughout the race to be eight seconds clear of Bottas after they had both pitted once. 

Ironically, it was his Williams replacement, Jack Aitken, crashing into the wall at turn 11 - leaving his front wing strewn across the racing line - that kickstarted the chain of events that caused his race to unravel. 

Mercedes decided to pit both Russell and Bottas during the safety car that followed. Unfortunately for Russell, Bottas’ tyres were put on his car by mistake forcing him to pit again, returning to the race in P5 behind Bottas. Toto Wolff could not hide his frustration at what happened, describing the stop as ‘a colossal fuck up’ while live on Sky after the race. 

After the safety car restart, it still looked as if the win was still within his grasp. Within four laps he had returned to P2 and was quickly chasing down Perez. His overtake on Bottas was particularly impressive - a superb move down the inside of turn 7.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1335721934386950145 

However, Russell’s horrendous luck struck again. He picked up a slow puncture on lap 78, forcing him to pit again. He managed to salvage P9 and the fastest lap, gaining his first points in the sport. They will seem like scant consolation considering the win was his for the taking. 

The unfortunate puncture also robbed viewers of a grandstand finish between the charging Mercedes and the eventual race winner. 

Although he will be disappointed by the race outcome - Russell can hold his head high for the race weekend. Despite being too big for the car and unfamiliar with the car's technology - Russell was still able to dominate his teammate. He will almost certainly drive for Mercedes by 2022. 

Could Russell be seen in the Mercedes in 2021? His performance raises the question. Could there be a potential driver swap that would see Bottas return to Williams with Russell racing for Mercedes? Although Wolff said he did not see it as a ‘realistic situation’, he did not crush the question. It still seems unlikely at this moment in time - but it is not outside the realms of possibility. 

At the very least, Russell has set himself up brilliantly for the future. He will almost certainly become a race winner and will challenge for the world championship. He has proven himself to be one of the most promising talents of his generation. 

Rare Mistakes and Mishaps 

The race was characterised by rare mistakes made by some of the most successful teams and drivers. The most obvious being Mercedes’ pit stop disaster, which cost the team a one-two. It was a stop that they probably did not have to make and could have got their tyres to the end of the race. It was Racing Point’s decision to stay out that was a major contributing factor in Perez taking the victory. 

The race was also notable for the mistakes made by the sport’s two most highly-rated young drivers, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. Both drivers ended the race with DNFs on the first lap. 

Leclerc had performed well all weekend, qualifying in a barely believable 4th in his struggling Ferrari. It may have contributed to his race-ending mistake, as he tried to keep his Ferrari higher than the car should be. He tried to dive up the inside of Verstappen into turn 4 before locking up and sliding into Perez, who had managed to get ahead of Verstappen. 

Verstappen took avoiding action by taking to the run-off area - and it appeared that he had avoided the accident. However, it then looked as if he forgot about the gravel at the end of the run-off - accelerating straight into it and then pathetically sliding into the wall. 

Given the way the race panned out both drivers, particularly Verstappen, may feel they could have had a race victory. Furthermore, Leclerc will now have a three-place grid penalty for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.